A Quest for the Uncliche

Dream. Explore. Learn. Repeat.. Let's traverse on the paths less taken and explore whole new worlds

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Un-mundane Mondays – Part: VII

Another Monday has arrived, bringing the combined package of hopes, joy and “blues”. Let’s hope to delete some of those blues, shall we?

Photograph

A brown headed seagull in Roskilde, Denmark Copyright: Abirbhav Mukherjee

Where

Roskilde, Denmark.

The city is located at the South End of a long and deep Roskilde Fjord in Denmark’s Zealand Island and used to be an important Viking Maritime hub. Roskilde served as the Capital of Denmark from c. 1020 CE to c. 1447 CE. The elevation of the status of Roskilde was done by none other than the legendary King Canute – The King of the North Sea Empire comprising Denmark, Norway and England. This picturesque and relatively undiscovered place is a treasure house of Historical events and rulers – some of which heavily influenced Major Global events back then.

What

As I have said earlier, I found Danish people to be very nice, helpful and friendly who would go the extra mile to help you out if you are genuinely stuck somewhere.

This particular bird paid a visit to my table when I was waiting for my food to arrive outside a small restaurant in Roskilde. It was so nice of this bird to pose for me to allow me to take a few pictures, slowly hopping towards me.

And suddenly I heard the deafening, shrill, clarion cry which made me drop my camera and close my ears..!!

Damn..!! So cacophonous and harsh..!! I wished to ask the bird what wrong did I do??

Maybe it was being friendly. But my ears were dead against this “friendship”. I couldn’t disobey those poor organs of mine who were at the receiving end of this ceremony of “greetings”. So I went inside the restaurant.

Turns out that this cute bird was Black Headed Gull (Scientific Name: Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Black Headed Gulls are found mainly along the coasts of Western Europe and North America. Their heads however turn white during the winters. The bird feeds on insects, small fish, seeds, worms, etc. The black headed gull is a bit noisy, which might explain it’s characteristic “welcome” sound.

Update – 1:

As per Ms. Beate Gütl (https://linienspiel.wordpress.com/), the bird shown here is actually the Laughing Gull (Scientific name: Leucophaeus atricilla) or Lachmöwe in German. In my opinion, though the plumage of both the black headed gull and laughing gull are quite similar and prone to confusion, I didn’t find the bird in the picture to be laughing ever. The cry was extremely shrill and discordant. The winter plumage of the laughing gull is also white. Thank you for the update..!!

Update – 2:

Ms. Brigitte (https://sjffbb.wordpress.com/) confirms the bird to be Lachmöwe or the Laughing Gull. She explains that German name “Lachmöwe” and the Scientific name “Larus ridibundus” of the Black-headed Gull seems to be derived from the American Laughing Gull (Larus atricilla), which got at first its name from Brisson after its voice, and was at first united with the Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus). Thank you for the explanation and it clears some of the confusion regarding the names and voices of the Lachmöwe..!!

Do you know the exact name of the bird in the picture? Let me know in the comments below so that the same may be updated..

When

The picture was taken in June 2019 CE

Equipment

Nokia 6.1 Mobile Phone Camera

Hope you liked this black headed gull and are intrigued by this one.

The sightings of birds and plants in their natural environment is quite fascinating. Perhaps, every creature has a role to play in the complex ecosystem of a place. One need not always go to the biggies to search for such unique beauties.

Looking forward to interacting more with you and “Make Mondays un-mundane”..

Cheers..!!

© Abirbhav Mukherjee. All the pictures / videos posted in this article are my own unless otherwise mentioned.

19 comments

    1. Thank you once again Madam.. 😊😊
      You heard it right. When it comes to traveling, I can feel the veracity of this statement. These small observations or events make our entire travel experience worth cherishing..!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much Madam for your enthusiastic comments and appreciation.. ☺️☺️
      I am glad you loved it.. ☺️☺️
      Hope you share your reviews for the other articles under this series.. Hope that you find those equally good.. ☺️

      Like

      Reply

  3. Yes, it is a “Lachmöwe”

    qoute”Summary. The German name “Lachmöwe” and the scientific name “Larus ridibundus” as well of the Black-headed Gull seems to be deriven from the american Laughing Gull(Larus atricilla), which got at first its name fromBrisson after its voice, and was at first united with the Black-headed Gull(Larus ridibundus).”quote end

    Great images and good infos!

    Greetings from Germany
    Brigitte

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Madam for such great insights..!! 😊😊
      It’s so great to learn from comments about things which I don’t know.. That’s why I find them rewarding.. 😊😊
      Thank you so much Madam for taking the time to explain in such great detail. I am adding the correction suggested by you.. 😊😊

      Greetings to you and your family from India..!!
      Stay safe.. 😊😊
      Abir

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thank you so much Angira for your lovely comments.. 🙂 ❤
      The bird is indeed beautiful (except it's cry) and Denmark is beautiful in totality. Whether or not you are a Chionophile, Denmark should always be on your radar.. 🙂 🙂
      Hope you visit soon..!! Thank you once again and hope the posts help.. 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Maybe you are right Madam.. I saw gulls in several coastal towns over there in Europe.. Can’t say about the part on trouble-maker though, but yes, I hate pigeons, because they are invasive and extremely filthy. No bird I saw in my life is as invasive and filthy as pigeon.
      You are most welcome Madam.. 🙂 🙂 Hope you visit Europe and see some of these gulls yourself.. 🙂

      Like

      Reply

  7. I find the linking of a personal anecdote into an informative report very successful.
    By the way: the name of this bird means” Lachmöwe” (“laughing gull”) in my mother tongue German. 😊😊
    I wish you a good time! ⭐🌱🌷

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much Madam for your visit and your kind words.. 😊😊
      Well, I did check the section on laughing gulls as well, but it’s voice was not at all close to any “laughter”.. 😂😂
      Anyways, shall include this update as well.. 😊😊
      Thank you once again Madam.. 😊😊 Have a great week..!!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

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